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I gave one of my classes a night off as Elie Wiesel came to the area to speak and since I called off their class, I gave them an optional extra credit assignment: go listen to Wiesel speak, write up a 3-4 page blurb about what he said, what topics he touched on, etc. etc. NOT ONE DAMN STUDENT did it. I was.....flabbergasted. Elie gave a tremendous speech about morals, politics, humanity, and how to improve our world and they just blew it off. I was shocked.

Give it some time. After a while you won't be shocked anymore, unfortunately.

"You know I love the guy but I swear he writes like freaking Yoda."-Dean WinchesterR12:2-Be Transformed

Give it some time. After a while you won't be shocked anymore, unfortunately.

My kids often ask for extra credit, and when there are times I offer it, they balk at it because it involves "work" on their part. Too used to the extra credit for doing basically nothing in earlier grades. How many of you recall extra credit in college? On the job? From the IRS come tax time? Life skills, students; it's all about teaching you to be prepared for life.

p.s. I sure would've loved to have been there! I teach his novel Night at times, and have heard several Holocaust survivors speak in person. Wonderful resource for them, wasted.

My kids often ask for extra credit, and when there are times I offer it, they balk at it because it involves "work" on their part. Too used to the extra credit for doing basically nothing in earlier grades. How many of you recall extra credit in college? On the job? From the IRS come tax time? Life skills, students; it's all about teaching you to be prepared for life.

Kids have no real idea that good grades and rewards are earned.

I get sick and tired of hearing them complain about their pi$$ poor grades, but won't lift a damn finger to change it.

I do not give out good grades, I make them work for it. So far it has made me unpopular, but that is not what the teaching profession is about.

"You know I love the guy but I swear he writes like freaking Yoda."-Dean WinchesterR12:2-Be Transformed

Give it some time. After a while you won't be shocked anymore, unfortunately.

oh, i've never been shocked about student laziness, but I thought listening to a survivor of Nazi Germany and its horrors would get their curiosity going and they'd at least think about going.

Originally Posted by Bel-Cam Jos

p.s. I sure would've loved to have been there! I teach his novel Night at times, and have heard several Holocaust survivors speak in person. Wonderful resource for them, wasted.

It was pretty amazing, dude. Here is the blurb I posted about it on my blog:

Elie, as many of you know, is the author of many books of fiction and non-fiction. Most of you are probably familiar with NIGHT, the non-fiction book based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz and then in Buchenwald. He was giving a speech, which was titled, "What the Ancient Masters Can Teach Us About Confronting Fanaticism and Building Moral Unity in a Diverse Society." I got out of my 5:15 class at about 6:35 or so. They weren't scheduled to open the doors for seats until 7 pm, but I saw hordes of people walking into the student union and figured I should investigate. It's a good thing I did as they were seating early and there was already a lot of folks sitting down. I found a seat in the last row to the right, but where i was sitting, it was between the right and center sections, if you read me. Essentially, I was right/center. I didn't want to get too close as I really didn't need to and that way I could make a speedy exit when it was over.

It was a really fantastic speech. He made a few jokes to open the night, commenting on how he was asked to talk about three topics instead of one. He came up with the three topics and decided to merge them back into one. He talked about various Biblical characters, Philosophers, etc, and what they teach us and how we implement that into our everyday lives. It was a really interesting and great speech. I wish I would have brought a voice recorder cos I would have LOVED to have had the audio. I think my favorite comment of the night was probably when he said, "Without learning there is only ignorance. And ignorance cannot help civilization." I'm probably messing it up towards the end, but that was the gist. He talked about the importance of learning and how essential it is.

Wiesel also has a great sense of humor about him. He was talking about various Biblical characters and came to Noah. He listed reasons why he doesn't like Noah, and they included that he's too obedient, doesn't ask questions when he should, and he also stated that he had a circus on his boat. He also made a few political comments as well. Wiesel discussed the racist times in the south during the 1950's and how if he was told then that an african american would be running for President, he would have been much happier. He then added, "And on the other side, we have a woman....let's just forget who she is!" It was great. I'm really happy and honored that I got to hear him speak. If you get a chance somehow, I really suggest you go see him.

"None of us is a beginning. Even Adam and Eve were at the end of creation. The best we can do is begin again."

"Madness is never the result of uncertainty, but of certainty. Fanatics have no questions, only answers, and thus they are BORED, prisoners in their own minds"
"Language is at the origin of everything that affects us"

and I thought of the following:

"So, God asks Adam where he is? Why is God asking Adam where he is? He's God! He knew where Adam was, but he wanted to see if Adam knew where he was."

"Why did God wait till the last day to make men and women? By that time he was tired. Why didn't he do that first?!?!"

"Woke up at 9.55am. Soon as I woke up, I looked at Suzanne and she looked at me. I said, 'Did I tell you about the immune system?' Suzanne starting laughing, I said, 'it's amazing.' She said, 'Not now.'"

right now i'm in my office during the second day of student conferences. This gives the student time to find out their grade at the moment, talk with me about the semester, and most importantly, ask me questions about their impending 300 point research paper that's due in three weeks.

Yesterday I was here from 9:30-4:45 with only about one student who didn't show up.

Today, totally different story. Out of the 13 conferences that I had scheduled for today, i've had seven not show up. It's pretty rude and irritating, but on a side note, it did allow me time to finish the second and final syllabus I had to complete for next semester. hehehe

"Woke up at 9.55am. Soon as I woke up, I looked at Suzanne and she looked at me. I said, 'Did I tell you about the immune system?' Suzanne starting laughing, I said, 'it's amazing.' She said, 'Not now.'"

I got to participate in my first random locker search today. So joker was giving away his Adderol (sp?) and then proceeded to name names. This gave us enough cause to look through about three dozen lockers on a random basis.

we found a lighter. While that is GREAT news for the school, I was hoping for something a bit more exciting.

Oh, and we found a half dozen condoms. While they are certainly an odd thing to have at school, they're not "contraband".

And with a law regarding accessibilty to materials, in combination with budget issues, our school really can't have class sets anymore. So there's more to lug around. I feel bad for the kids, and in response, seldom require them to bring the books to school; therefore, they sit at home, unused most of the time.